Beijing Clamps Down On Bible Sales On Internet

Bibles have been pulled from the mainland online retailers in "recent days", merchants said on Friday, as Communist authorities ramp up control over religious worship.

The clamp down on "illegally published books" also comes as the Vatican and Beijing negotiate a historic agreement on the appointment of bishops in China.

"Bibles and books without publication numbers have all been removed in recent days," said a merchant on the e-commerce platform Taobao, without giving details on how authorities have enforced the ban.

However, another merchant said she can list Old Testament editions of the Bible while English editions were still available in search results on Amazon China and Dangdang.com.

Online sales of other major religious texts including the Koran and the Taoist Daodejing did not appear to be affected.

All books sold on the mainland technically must go through an official approval process, but Bibles have been readily available in recent years.

The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) governs the distribution of the mainland's equivalent of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), which is needed for books to be legally sold in the country.

China's State Council and GAPP authorities did not immediately respond to requests for clarification.

Jin Mingri, pastor of the Protestant Zion Church in Beijing, which is not registered with the government, said the restrictions were tied to "overall tightening in the overall environment".

"Maybe [authorities] think that the spread of the Bible on informal channels is not conducive to state ideology," said Jin. "This certainly has an impact on believers' access to the Bible," he added. (AFP)